Grocery and vegetable counter



March 11 1924;.

E. R. KIPER ET AL GROCERY AND VEGETABLE COUNTER Filed March 28, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 81 591 nag March 11 1924.

E. R. KIPER ET AL GROCERY AND VEGETABLE COUNTER 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28 m a w 1 4 a Z, 9 a a 2 2 Ed d 0 1 M M 6 6 6 1 u .2 7 J E 5 0 a 2 5 9 2 wa 2 w Patented Mar. 11, 192 5 ERNEST R. KIPER AND LAVTRENCE B. KIPER, F GILBERT, LOUISIANA.

GROCERY AND VEGETABLE COUNTER.

Application filed March 28, 1922.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, ERNEST R. Kirnn and LiiwnENoE B. KIPER, citizens of the United States, residing at Gilbert, in the 6 parish of Franklin, State of Louisiana, have invented a new and useful Grocery and Vegetable Counter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention aims to provide a dispensing device which will combine the advantages of a counter and containers for merchandise, it being possible to remove certain kinds of inechandise from the front of the device and certain kinds of merchandise from the rear of the device, means being provided whereby the nature of the merchandise can be ascertained at a glance.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the invention appertains.

Vith the above and other objects in View, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, with in the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 shows in front elevation, a device constructed in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a rear elevation; Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a section on the line l4c of Figure 1.

The device forming the subject matter of this application includes a bottom 1 on which ends 2 are mounted. The ends 2 carry panel-forming frames 3. A beading 4 is mounted on the forward edge of the bottom 2 and on the ends thereof. The heading 4 may be considered as a part of the bottom 1, and, generally stated, the beading and the panel-forming frames 3 are matters of design and ornamentation.

The device includes a top 5, adapted to serve as a counter, and disposed parallel to the bottom 1, the top being supported on the ends 2. The numeral 6 denotes, generally, the back of the device. The back 6 includes a base strip 7 extended between the ends 2 and disposed at right angles to the Serial No. 547,484.

bottom 1. The back 6 includes, further an intermediate strip 8, extended between the ends 2 and mounted on the base strip 7, the intermediate strip 8 being outwardly and rearwardly inclined. The back 6 includes an upper strip 9, extended between the ends 2 and engaged with the top 5. A front 11 extends between the ends 2 and proj ects downwardly from the top 5. The front 11 is downwardly and outwardly inclined. Rails 16 extend between the ends 2 and are located adjacent to the bottom 1. A platform 10 extends between the lower edge of front 11 and the point of juncture between the parts 8 and 7 of the back 6. The platform 10 is downwardly and rearwardly inclined.

Upper partitions 12 are located between the top 5 and the platform 10, and between the front 11 and the members 8 and 9 of the back 6. The upper partitions 12 define upper compartments 14.. Lower partitions 15 are disposed between the rails 16 and the base strip 7 of the back 6 on the one hand, and between the platform 10 and the bottom 1 on the other hand. The lower partitions 15 define lower bins 17. Preferably, there are two of the upper partitions 12 to one of the lower partitions 15, the upper compartments 14, therefore, being smaller than the lower bins 17. In Figure 1 of the drawings, but one of the partitions 15 is shown, but it is to be understood that there may be as many of the partitions 15 as is desired, depending upon the length of the cabinet.

Doors 18 are hinged at 19 to the upper edge of the strip 8 of the back 6, the doors being provided with knobs 24: for their convenient manipulation. When the doors are closed, they engage beneath the upper strip 9 of the back 6 and abut against the ends 2 and the partitions 12. Links 20 are pivoted at 21 to the doors 18. The links 20 slide in keepers 22 on the upper partitions 12 and have hooks 23 adapted to engage the keepers 22 when the doors are opened, in order to hold the doors in horizontal position. When the doors 18 are open and horizontally disposed, as shown in Figure 3, they serve as a shelf, on which may be placed a bag or the like, which is to be filled from the upper compartment 14. Because the platform 10 is downwardly and rearwardly inclined, the material in the upper compartments 14 tends to slide rearwardly, so that the material can be reached readily by an operator, when the doors 18 are opened.

Openings 25 are formed in the front 11. The openings 25 are adapted to receive display members, denoted generally by the numeral 26, the display members being removable. Each display member 26 includes a frame 27, a back plate 28 and a front plate 29, the front plate 29 being made of glass or other transparent material. The display members 26 are adapted to contain material of the sort which is located in the upper compartments 14. Each display member 26 includes a frame 30 which exercises a double purpose. First, the frame 30 serves to hold the front plate 29 in place. Secondly, the frame 30, cooperating. with the front 11, as shown in Figure 3, prevents the display member from sliding rearwardly into the upper compartment 14:.

Frames 31 extend between the ends 2 and the lower partitions 15, the frames being secured to the parts 2and 15. Each frame 31 carries a panel 32 which may be made of wire netting. A closure 33 is connected by spring hinges 34 to the upper edge of each frame 31. The hinges 34- tend to swing the members 33 upwardly into closed positions, into engagement with the ends 2 and the partition 15. Each closure 33 is supplied with a knob 35 and may embody a panel 36 made of wire netting. Since wire netting is provided at 36 and 32, the lower bins 17 will be ventilated adequately. Should one desire to have the front of the cabinet open, the frames 81 together with the closures 33 may be removed, and then, the rails 16 will hold the material in the bins 17.

The operation of the device is simple. The doors 18 may be swung open into the position shown in Figure 3, to give access to the upper bins 14:, the doors serving as sl'ielves. Similarly, the closures 33 may be ease 1e swung downwardly into open position, to give access to the bins 17 A sample of the merchandise in each compartment 14: is made visible through the front plate 29 of the display member 26. The top 5 is adapted to serve as a counter. Ordinarily, vegetables and the like are stored in the lower bins 17 sugar, and like commodities being stored in the upper compartments 14..

What is claimed is 1. In a device of the class described, a back comprising a vertical bas'e strip, an intermediate strip outwardly inclined from the upper edge of the base strip, and an upper strip inwardly inclined from the upper edge of the intermediate strip, the upper strip having an opening; a base member disposed parallel to the base strip and of greater height than the base strip, an inclined platform projecting forwardly from the upper edge of the base member and extended rearwardly to the juncture between the base strip and the intermediate strip, a front located at the forward edge of the platform and inclined rearwardly, in approximate parallelism to the intermediate strip, and a top supported on the front and on the upper strip.

2. A device of the class described, constructed as set forth in claim 1, and further characterized by a door hinged to the upper edge of the intermediate strip and constituting a closure for the opening in the upper strip, means for holding the door open in an approximately horizontal posi tion, to serve as a counter, and a sample holder carried by the front.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto afiixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST R. KIPER. LAWRENGE B. KIPER. Witnesses:

ALLEN LEE, M. C. TOWNSEND. 

